The company produces thin film modules and mono and poly-crystalline silicon solar cells.

Sharp Solar manufactures PV modules in multiple locations, though it shut down solar panel production at its factories in Wrexham, Wales[1] and Memphis, Tennessee[2] in 2014.

Sharp began researching solar cells in 1959 with mass production first beginning in 1963.

[3][4] In 2010, they were the #1 producer of PV cells, in terms of revenues.

[5] 1959: Started development of solar cells 1963: Began mass production of solar cells 1963: First to supply ocean buoy with solar power cells 1966: Installed solar on lighthouse 1967: Began development of solar space applications 1976: "Ume" satellite successfully launched with solar cells on board 1980: Released first solar calculator 1981: Began operations at Shinjo Plant (now Katsuragi) 1988: Reached 11.5% cell conversion for amorphous silicon solar cells 1992: Reached 17.1% cell conversion for polycrystalline solar cells 1992: Achieved world's highest cell conversion efficiency of 22% 1994: Commercialization of residential solar power system (grid-connected) 2000: Became global leader in solar cell manufacturing 2001: Obtained UL (U.S.) and TUV (EU) certification for PV modules 2002: Developed the industry's first string power conditioner 2003: Space PV module installed on Satellite Observatory "Free Flyer" (SFU) 2003: Began producing PV modules in the United States 2003: Began producing PV modules in Europe 2005: Developed solar cells that admit light and can be used as building materials for windows 2005: Began mass-producing thin film solar cells 2006: Katsuragi plant expands its annual production capacity to 600 megawatts, the world's highest at that time 2007: Expanded production capacity of PV modules to 200 megawatts in Europe 2008: Became first PV manufacturer in the world to achieve cumulative production of 2 GW 2008: Achieved industry's highest conversion efficiency for a polycrystalline PV module of 14.4% 2009: Launched thin film modules globally 2010: Launched world's highest efficiency Solar PV panel with greater than 32.5% efficiency 2010: Investment made into 2.8 GW annual production capacity